For the last 10 years, the tissue culture, monoclonal antibody- histopathology, and flow cytometry core facility has provided well characterized human synovial tissues and cultured cells to SCOR investigators by a centralized laboratory. We have also made available to the SCOR investigators monoclonal antibodies to both human and mouse antigens, flow cytometric analysis and cell sorting, and a resource for the production of monoclonal antibodies to antigens of interest. All of the projects in this SCOR have depended and continue to depend heavily on the services provided by the core facility. Acquiring, characterizing, growing and separating synovial tissues and fluids is highly labor intensive. This fact combined with the logistics of obtaining samples from surgical pathology, the rheumatology clinic, and the orthopedic/sports medicine clinics makes the core facility indispensable for the studies outlined in this grant proposal. Further, having a central collection, processing, quality assurance and storage facility ensures that materials are appropriately processed, sufficient material is available for all studies, and that individual investigators are not comparing for the same samples. Over the last year, we have begun to collect, separate and store peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with RA undergoing experimental therapy with oral collagen. We will expand the collection and storage of PBMC from patients undergoing experimental therapies for RA to include trials using IL-4 and IL-10. We will also begin to collect and distribute cartilage. The ability of the core facility to provide over 600 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to 227 human antigens, 52 mAbs to 41 mouse antigens, and the expertise to produce new mAbs has been highly valuable and cost-effective. Our goals, therefore, are to continue to provide a central storehouse for clinical specimens, technical expertise, and monoclonal antibodies for the SCOR investigators.
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